Mommy, don't be afraid, I'll bring you blind boxes and scam you out of a wealthy family to

This wasn't Wen Li's first time at the city hall. Last time, it was for the Duan family to formally adopt her; today, she wasn't the main character, but rather there to accompany her uncle in his "battle."

Funhouse mirrors are different from the ones we usually see; they're small enough that even a three-year-old can hold them in their hands.

The items you get from blind boxes are often different in size from real items, like the huge matchboxes that I couldn't even hold in both hands last time.

Wen Li waited and waited with the funhouse mirror, but even after her uncle went into the meeting room, her grandmother still hadn't arrived.

Their hopes of having them look in the mirror and reflect on the "past" were dashed, but the little dumpling wasn't discouraged. She sat obediently on the bench outside, waiting for her uncle to come out.

A large group of people rushed into the conference room, and then only she and Uncle Fu Jing were left in the corridor.

Uncle Fu Jing paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, his brow furrowed.

Unable to interact with him, Wen Li played with the mirror by herself.

She held up a funhouse mirror and secretly looked at Uncle Fu.

Uncle Fu has a good-natured round face, and in the mirror he looks even fatter, like a flattened loaf of bread.

Wen Li looked at herself again. A big mouth, small eyes, like a flattened fish.

The little dumpling was amused by its own appearance and quickly covered its mouth—its uncle was in a meeting inside, so it couldn't make a sound.

She then looked at the walls, the ceiling, and even the trash can.

Some are a little fatter, some a little thinner, but the difference isn't significant. Compared to any ordinary funhouse mirror, they're no different.

Milk Dumpling was a little discouraged: Is this another useless box?

Just as she was about to put it away, her gaze was suddenly drawn to a bouquet of flowers at the end of the corridor.

It was a bunch of pink hydrangeas, sitting quietly in a vase on a glass cabinet.

The leaves are lush and green, and the petals are so bright they seem unreal.

Wen Li recognized this flower; the last time she visited her mother, there were hydrangeas in the hospital room, only in a different color.

Fresh hydrangeas are pretty too, but not as vibrant, and they feel soft to the touch. They're quite different from this cluster.

The glass case had "preserved flower" written on it, but unfortunately she couldn't read.

The little dumpling curiously raised a funhouse mirror and looked at its reflection in the pink hydrangea.

Eh?

The hydrangea in the mirror is different from the one in front of me.

It's not a matter of weight, nor simply shape; more accurately, it's a difference in state—the flower in the mirror is withered.

The flowers were withered and yellow, drooping listlessly, and the leaves were curled up, as if they had been dead for a long time.

Wen Li rubbed her eyes and looked at them a second time; they were still withered.

She looked at the glass case again; it was pink and tender, intact, full and vibrant.

They are completely different.

Is the funhouse mirror broken?

No, that won't do! Pear Baby still needs to use this to help her uncle and grandma see the "past"!

Wen Li turned and ran to find Fu Jing, very anxious: "Uncle, Uncle, Li Bao's box is broken..."

Fu Jing's brows were still furrowed. He hadn't really cared about a child's toy, but this was Li Bao, and no one could refuse Li Bao's request.

He took a deep breath and squatted down: "What's wrong? Let Uncle take a look."

Wen Li held up a small mirror, her face full of worry: "That flower was good, but it turned bad in the mirror."

Fu Jing was confused, so Wen Li pulled him over by his clothes and demonstrated it to him.

Fu Jing frowned.

The flowers in the glass case and the flowers in the mirror look so similar, yet completely different, like the difference between white clouds and dark clouds on a sunny day.

"It's the reflection in the mirror, not now," Wen Li added promptly, lying beside her. "That's what Qiu Qiu said."

Before even wondering who Qiuqiu was, Fu Jing had already been drawn into a thought process about supernatural powers.

The unusualness of a bouquet of preserved flowers may not be unusual at all—it simply exists in the superposition and coexistence of "life" and "death".

Its current blooming is actually a result of human intervention forcibly preserving it. Under normal circumstances, it should have withered long ago.

In other words, what is reflected in the mirror is "real time".

Moreover, only time periods that have been intentionally frozen, altered, overwritten, or misaligned will show abnormalities.

The real...time...

The point of contention surrounding Duan Xianchen's project lies in its timing. Specifically, the final version's release date coincides with Qin Zhiyuan's event schedule.

However, the original version was not like this.

Fu Jing suddenly stood up: "I've got it!"

Xiao Wenli looked at him blankly.

Fu Jing strode toward the preparation room next to the conference room, but halfway there he remembered that he hadn't brought a little tail, so he turned back and picked up Wen Li.

After placing the warm pears in the refrigerator, Fu Jing turned on his computer.

He has a habit of making backups; he keeps copies of most of the initial drafts of his materials.

If we find the documents from the very beginning of the project, their creation date will prove that Ambassador Qin could not have had time to "operate" behind the scenes.

There's no need to resort to any other means or find a different angle to deliberately testify for Duan Xianchen.

Once the original facts are presented, the innocent will be proven innocent, and everything will be resolved.

The hearing still has several hours to go; he should, no, he definitely will make it in time!

Wen Li sat on the sofa, quiet and obedient, waiting patiently.

Although I don't understand why Uncle Fu is suddenly so excited, it sounds like Uncle Fu can "win"!

But when exactly is Grandma coming?

-

The hearing had been going on for over an hour in the conference room.

Duan Xianchen sat at the end of the long table, a stack of documents spread out in front of him, his brows furrowed.

Lu Hong, sitting opposite him, looked smug, as if waiting for his prey to step into a trap.

"Attorney Duan, I'd like to ask—" he said calmly, "is there any overlap between the timing of your company's project and Ambassador Qin's overseas assignments?"

Several gazes simultaneously fell upon Duan Xianchen.

Duan Xianchen sat up straight: "The project plan and technical standards were reviewed independently according to the process, and have nothing to do with external experience."

Lü Hong immediately pressed further: "But we discovered that some aspects are highly consistent with the industrial policy direction promoted by Ambassador Qin at the time. How do you explain that?"

Duan Xianchen curled his fingers.

Before he could figure out how to answer the leading question, there was a knock on the conference room door.

Fu Jing went straight to the hearing committee seat: "We request supplementary materials: the original time record of the project."

Someone looked through it and said, "It's not quite the same as the one in the filing."

"Yes, there were multiple versions of the project and numerous replacements. This original record shows that the project was initiated long before Ms. Qin Zhiyuan's activities, and the two timelines do not overlap."

Lu Hong's smile froze, and he lowered his head to check something.

Clearly, he had no idea there was such a thing as a first edition record.

"Please wait a moment while we check," the hearing committee member said.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the conference room door opened again.

A low gasp of surprise rang out.

Qin Zhiyuan, dressed in a dark blue suit, walked with a composed gait, followed by two subordinates from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As soon as she appeared, several committee members in the hearing panel stood up almost simultaneously: "Ms. Qin, please sit here."

Lu Hong's gaze darkened.

Qin Zhiyuan did not refuse, took a seat, and glanced around the room.

When passing Duan Xianchen, they did not linger.

She took the microphone: "I did not participate in any approval or coordination process for this project, I did not contact any department, and I did not provide any convenience to any individual. All procedures are fully documented and available for review."

She paused, then added:

"Furthermore, all of Duan Xianchen's actions in this project were based on his professional judgment and had nothing to do with any family relationship."

The meeting room was completely silent.

After a brief pause, the hearing committee concluded: "Both supplementary materials and explanations have been verified and are true. The inferences relating to this case are unfounded."

Lü Hong suddenly looked up: "But on the timeline—"

However, the meeting was abruptly interrupted: "This version of the timeline is invalid. The council hereby rules as follows: All objections raised by lawyer Duan Xianchen are unfounded, the project procedures are compliant, and normal progress shall resume."

The committee's gaze fell on Lü Hong, and their tone turned cold: "An investigation team will contact you later to verify the source of the whistleblower's materials. Until the results are in, you are suspended from your duties. Meeting adjourned."

Lu Hong's face turned green on the spot.

Duan Xianchen slowly leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

Fu Jing patted him on the shoulder and grinned, "I knew you wouldn't lose—go thank your niece!"

-

As soon as I stepped out of the city hall, the media swarmed around me:

"Attorney Duan, congratulations on the successful outcome of the hearing!"

"Is this clarification a significant turning point for you?"

"Will you be returning to work on the project as soon as possible?"

Duan Xianchen ignored all the congratulations and inquiries, ignored all the flashing lights, and immediately picked up the long-awaited little dumpling: "Oh my, our little lucky star!"

Seeing her smiling uncle again, Wen Li was overjoyed: "Did Uncle win?"

Duan Xianchen hugged himself tighter, his nose tingling slightly: "Yeah, we won—everyone saw it."

He didn't know, and neither did she, how much the funhouse mirror had helped.

Fu Jing also came over and pinched Wen Li's little nose: "If it weren't for you, we don't know how long it would have taken us to realize that the problem wasn't the content of the project itself, but the time it took."

time……

Wen Li suddenly exclaimed, "Oh dear!"

"What's wrong?" Duan Xianchen asked, puzzled, and put her down as she requested.

The little dumpling ran off to the other side, calling out as it ran, "Uncle, come look at 'the past'!"

Duan Xianchen: "...Huh?"

He looked over there.

Qin Zhiyuan stood not far away, also looking at him.

The little dumpling held one in each hand, looking very excited: "Uncle and Grandma, let's look in the mirror together!"